Celaena Sardothien is cloaked in her assassin’s hood once more. She is back in Rifthold, but this time she’s no one’s slave. She must delve into her most painful memories and fight for her survival, while resisting a smouldering passion that might very well consume her heart. And she will face her former master, the King of Assassins, again – to wreak revenge for a decade of pain . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)Review:

QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Mass is the fourth book in the young adult fantasy series Throne of Glass. Celaena Sardothien knows who she is and has returned to Rifthold, in order to collect the debts she is owed. Starting with her former master, the King of Assassins.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS is a brilliant addition to the Throne of Glass series. It did take me a while to really get into the book, but the story was a compelling one. From the first page I wanted to know how things were going to play out; if Celaena was going to get her revenge, if she would survive her return to Rifthold – and if so, at what cost.

As this is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, it is hard to talk about it without mentioning things that could be considered as spoilers. So if you haven’t read the previous three books, then I will just say that if you like the epic fantasy genre and writers like Tamora Pierce and David Eddings then you should definitely consider checking this series out starting with the first book THRONE OF GLASS (review). If you have read the previous books, then read on.

After the revelations at the end of CROWN OF MIDNIGHT (review) and the whole of HEIR OF FIRE (review) we know what Celaena Sardothien’s heritage is: she is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius. This really comes into play in this book as Maas stops referring to her as Celaena. To begin with I found this a little jarring, but I think it works to show the change in Aelin – to show how far she has come since we first met her as Celaena in THRONE OF GLASS .

QUEEN OF SHADOWS sees the return of a lot of familiar faces with Aelin’s return to Rifthold. Maas writes Arobynn brilliantly, so much so that you begin to wonder how Aelin will manage to beat him. I also enjoyed the return of Manon’s narrative, which I was beginning to wonder why Maas was including it – all will be explained when you read, kind of.

The plot of QUEEN OF SHADOWS is what I would expect from a book in the Throne of Glass series – a complex, good read. I think that this book really sets things up for the conclusion of the series in the final two (?) books, as the battle lines are definitely being drawn and we can start to see where people are being placed. I was surprised by a couple of things that happened in this book, which I thought might be happening in the next book. So it will be interesting to see what happens next.

If you are a fan of the Throne of Glass series then I would definitely recommend that you continue it and read this book. QUEEN OF SHADOWS is the best book in the series so far.

Welcome

Hi I’m Becki, welcome to The Flutterby Room. Thank you for stopping by. We have reviews for all sorts of books, and a few unboxings of book based boxes.
I have an MA English from the Open University, and a BA (Hons) English with Creative Writing from University College Falmouth. The Flutterby Room is the place where I share my love of books and reading. I try to give spoiler free reviews.